Prinicipals, Geeks, and Sir Isaac Newton
by Smackalicious
Summary: New chapter up December 26th. Grace and Luke have a talk.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: This is the first Joan of Arcadia fic I've written, so don't be too harsh! I got the idea for this from the May 14th episode.

Principals, Geeks, and Sir Isaac Newton

            Grace Polk stood at her locker, kicking it angrily. Principal Price was standing behind her, arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

            "Miss Polk, would it be too much to ask you to stop destroying school property?" he asked, causing Grace to stop kicking her locker and grit her teeth.

            "Would it be too much to ask you to leave me the hell alone?!" Grace responded, her voice getting louder as she went. She pushed Price out of the way and began to walk down the hall.

            "Miss Polk!" Price yelled after her. Grace simply raised her hand and waved to him as she met Joan, Adam, and Luke outside the school.

            Adam and Joan were giggling about something that Grace rolled her eyes at, and Luke had his nose stuck in a chemistry textbook.

            "I haven't seen someone so interested in a textbook since Friedman snuck his Playboy into history class," Grace snirked, but got no reply from Luke. "Yo, Girardi. Come on, Newton's third law isn't _that_ interesting."

            Luke finally looked up at her. "So, you're talking to me?"

            "No, I'm talking to Rove's new face attachment." Joan broke away from Adam long enough to glare at Grace, then went back to making out. "Why would I be avoiding you?"

            "Well, you know…" Luke stammered, before Grace grabbed him by the shirt collar.

            "One word more and you'll be a living chemistry experiment," Grace muttered. Like's eyes few wide and he nodded his head in agreement. Grace slowly turned her head to face Joan and Adam, who were watching her with wondering looks on their faces.

            "What're you doing to Jane's brother, yo?" Adam asked.

            "Showing him what'll happen if he lays a hand on my ass again," Grace covered. Luke was nodding in agreement when she started the statement, but stopped once she said 'ass.'

            "What? I did not," he sputtered, shaking a finger wildly, "no, I do not have a death wish, regardless of what you all may think."

            "What's wrong with your brother, yo?" Adam asked Joan.

            "Science brain?" she guessed. "It's Luke. What's _not_ wrong with him?"

            "I resent that," Luke yelled out as Grace dragged him off.

            "Now where are they going?" Adam asked.

            "I think Grace has the hots for my brother or vice versa or both, which is beyond disgusting," Joan explained.

            Adam started laughing. "Grace? Admit she likes someone? That would be so…"

            "Materialistic? Yeah, I totally got that."

            "Actually, I was just going to say girly, yo," Adam responded. Joan rolled her eyes at him, but he leaned over and kissed her, which seemed to take that problem away.

            Meanwhile, Grace and Luke were in the parking lot, sitting on Grace's car.

            "So, now that you're actually speaking to me…" Luke started.

            "I was never not speaking to you, dork," Grace corrected him.

            Luke looked confused. "Was that supposed to make sense?"  
            Grace suddenly leaned in and kissed him. When she pulled away, he still had his eyes closed and his mouth in a pucker. Grace started laughing and Luke opened his eyes.

            "So, does this mean that we're…" Luke wondered.

            "If you say 'dating,' 'going steady,' or any other ridiculously cheesy phrase coined by pathetic fools like your sister and Rove, I swear I will hurl."

            Luke nodded slowly. "Is that a yes or no?"

            "Does this answer your question?" She grabbed him by the shirt collar again, this time laying a big kiss on him. After she pulled away, she told him, "I've gotta run. You're either in the car or under it. Pick one." She then got in the driver's side, and Luke smiled to himself.

            "I'm going out with Grace Polk," he said slyly. Grace honked the horn at him and he quickly jumped off the car and joined her inside.

            While Grace and Luke has been busy kissing, Adam and Joan has wandered over to the parking lot, where they has witnessed the show.

            "Adam, would it be possible for me to gouge my eyes out with a well-sharpened spoon or something?" she asked, disturbed by the scene.

            "I've got a jack knife, yo," he responded, having a hard time coping with it himself. They turned and started walking back towards the school, talking.

            "Grace and _Luke_?" Joan wondered aloud. "What do they see in each other?"

            "Opposites attract, yo," Adam stated wisely.

            Joan stopped walking. "Do you think we're opposites? Or maybe we're just not really attracted to each other, it's just basic hormones and teenage lust, and maybe we're not like Romeo and Juliet and we'll never have a real relationship because my brother is making out with my best friend!" She stopped babbling and looked at Adam, who was giving her a confused look.

            "I have no idea what you just said, Jane," he admitted.

            "You're right," she said, not really paying attention. "You're right, and I'm not going to go and ruin my brother's life just because I think it's a horrible tragedy to the whole of mankind. I mean, can you imagine their kids?"

            "Jane, we're in high school."

            "Oh my God, they'd be genius science punks that went around beating people up that didn't know the Pythagorean theorem…"

            "That's math."

            "…or didn't wear clothes that were protesting war." She faced Adam and stared him in the face. "We have to stop this now, before our children's futures are doomed!" She ran off, and Adam stood there, suddenly getting a smile on his face.

            "Did she just say she wants to have my children?" he asked himself. He then realized Joan has left and ran to catch up to her.

            As Joan was planning the future of everyone within speaking distance, Grace and Luke were driving around in Grace's car.

            "So, where was it you had to go?" Luke asked Grace.


	2. Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus

"So, where was it you had to go?" Luke asked Grace.

"Nowhere. I just wanted to get away from the prying eyes of the Adam and Joan connection," she explained.

"Oh," Luke said, then realized what she had said. "Adam and Joan?! As in, Rove and Girardi?!"

"Who else?" Grace asked. "God, are you slow today or what?"

"Grace! Joan is my sis-ter."

"I realize that, too. You're just not having a good brain day, are you?"

"Why is that not a big deal to you? Like I want Joan butting in on us every 5 seconds to tell you about the newest Brad Pitt movie."

Grace slammed on the brakes as they reached a stop sign. "Let's get this straight. One, I don't care what Joan says, and B, I am not, nor will I ever be, interested in anything Brad Pitt says or does."

"Does that mean you think I'm better-looking than him?" Luke asked.

"Don't push it, geek," she answered, and Luke's face fell. She pulled into a small parking lot outside of a little store and got out of the car.

"Where are we?" Luke asked.

"If you'd come in, you'd find out." He got out of the car and started to follow her, pausing as they went to slip his hand into hers. Grace looked down and did something very un-Grace-like – blushed – as they continued their walk.

When they reached the back door of the shop, Grace knocked a secret knock and waited for someone to answer.

"Wait, this isn't, like, some drug dealer's hang-out, is it?" Luke asked nervously.

"Yeah, like I'd bring my boyfriend to my drug dealer's," Grace scoffed.

"You _do _have a drug dealer?" Luke asked incredulously. Grace rolled her eyes at him to show she was just being sarcastic. "Yeah, I knew that." They were silent for a few more seconds, then Luke realized, "Hey, you called me your boyfriend."

"God, do you never shut up?" Grace asked, annoyed by his incessant yapping. "Sorry. Yeah, I did. It's kind of a…big deal. I've never had a boyfriend before."

"You don't say."

"Hey, are you interested in me or not?"

"Well, yeah, I like you, Grace. I wouldn't just make a potential fool out of myself for just anyone."

"Really. You had me fooled."

"Are we going in or what?" Luke asked impatiently. Just as he was asking that, the door opened.

"Grace!" a guy with a scruffy beard greeted them. "Who's your skinny friend?"

"Drug dealer?" Luke reminded her. Grace glared at him, and her friend started talking again.

"Whoa, whoa, dude," he protested, holding up his hands. "There ain't no drugs here. This place is totally clean and free, man."

Luke looked amused. "What exactly is this place?"

"Well, come on in, man!" he invited, motioning them in. "Any friend of Grace's is a friend of mine. I'm Jesus, by the way."

Luke stopped in his tracks. "Jesus? As in…"

"Yeah, my parents were really religious," he explained. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's my parents for ya."

Luke looked around, still wondering why Grace brought him there. There were a few random chairs around an old table, but it wasn't a store, as Luke had originally thought. "You never really answered my question," Luke said.

"Right, right," Jesus apologized.

"Let me," Grace interrupted him. "This is sort of a place where we get together to talk. Adam comes sometimes, but I haven't told Joan yet. It's kinda private."

"I feel honored that you'd tell me," Luke said.

"Well, I wouldn't tell just anyone," Grace explained. "I knew I could trust you to keep it quiet. Can't I?"

Luke looked scared. "Of course you can. I just have to ask, why is it such a big deal to keep it secret?"

"You promise you won't tell Joan?" Grace asked.

"Joan doesn't know anything about me and she never listens, anyway," Luke assured her.

Grace sighed. "Jesus talks to God."

Luke started laughing, pointing a finger at them. "That's a good one, Grace. You almost had me there." Grace and Jesus didn't say anything, indicating they were serious. "Whoa, you're serious, aren't you? This is insane! I mean, it's God."

"Yeah, we know," Grace said quietly.

"How long have you had this…gift?" Luke asked Jesus.

"Well, it started when I was 16," Jesus explained. "I had just moved to Arcadia, and I was having a hard time adjusting. You know how high school is. But, then I met Grace and Adam at an anti-war rally, and they accepted me for me. You've got some real friends, man."

"Well, that's touching," Grace said. "But pipsqueak and I have to get going."

"We do?" Luke wondered. "Where to?"

"Somewhere we can be," she moved closer to him, "alone."

Luke's eyes grew wide once again. "We," he started, his voice coming out high and squeaky before he cleared his throat and it returned to its normal range, "have to get going."

"Don't get into too much trouble, yo," he bade them. Luke stopped and narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Yeah, he got that from Rove," Grace confirmed.


	3. Dashboard Confessionals

Grace and Luke returned to Grace's car, and Grace started driving to an undisclosed location.

"I can't believe this whole Jesus thing," Luke started, still in shock. "And I can't understand why you haven't told Joan. She's your best friend."

"Yeah, she also tends to be loud and yell everything you just told her to the entire student body," Grace replied, glancing over at him. "Remember the whole underwear incident?"

"God, do I ever…"

…_Joan's eyes grew wide. "My brother wears BIKINI BRIEFS?!" she screamed._

Grace covered her eyes and Luke turned bright red. Everyone standing in the hallway turned and looked at Luke, most of them smirking…

"You did get pretty red," Grace said. "I was just pulling Joan's leg, but, wow, bikini's."

Luke turned red again. "What type of undergarments a man wears is nobody's business but his own."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Come on, Girardi. That act isn't going to work on me. Besides, I don't really care what you have under your chinos, anyway."

"I could've figured as much," Luke muttered to himself.

Grace slammed on the brakes, clenched her hands around the steering wheel, and growled, "What did you just say?"

"Well, it just figures that you wouldn't be interested in getting into my pants. "I mean, look at the way you act in…."

He was interrupted by Grace leaning over and laying a forceful kiss on him. He started to return the kiss, but Grace backed off and started driving again like nothing happened.

It was silent for a few moments until Luke spoke up. "What made you like this?"

"Like what?" Grace asked, glaring at him.

"What made you such a non-conformist, environmentalist, do-everything-for-yourself type of person? I'm assuming you weren't always like this."

"What – are you a psychoanalyst now?"

"I just want to know why you push everyone away."

"Why don't you tell me, Freud? You seem to have everything all figured out."

"No, I don't," Luke said, frustrated. "I want to know the real Grace. Not the fundalmentalist, anti-everything Grace I see in school."

"Well, that's touching, but this is the real Grace. It's not like I live some secret life where I actually care about clothes and make-up. If you don't like the real me, I suggest going back to Miss Science Geek."

"Grace, don't you get it?" Luke shouted impatiently. "I've always liked _you_. I just went out with Glynis because I'm an idiot and listened to Friedman. I might be smart when it comes to science, but I'm a total moron at things like telling your sister's best friend that when she comes over to study for chemistry, I don't study. How am I supposed to say I just sit and stare at her the entire time, thinking about how beautiful she is?"

Grace looked a trifle flustered, but she recovered in her normal manner. "I think you need to get the your prescription for those glasses checked."

"Grace, why can't you accept a compliment when someone gives you one? If your goal is to make everyone hate you, it didn't work."

"Look, I just don't want to be some materialistic bimbo that thrives on the attention of men. There are a lot more important things to life than waiting for the quarterback of the football team to ask you out."

"You want to go out with the quarterback of our football team?" Grace gave him a dirty look and he nodded. "Right. But just because you say thank you when someone says you're pretty doesn't mean war is going to erupt in Ethiopia or something. It just means you accept the fact that you _are_ beautiful."

Grace looked at the steering wheel and said, "Hate to break it to you, Einstein, but I'm not a supermodel." She finally looked at him, and for a moment, he could see the tiniest sliver of sadness in her eyes.

Luke took her hand in his and replied, "I know you're not. That's what makes you so beautiful."

Grace started laughing. "This is getting way too Adam-and-Joan for me. I'm not going to put up with any lovey dovey crap."

"So, then, what's the meaning of this relationship?" Luke wondered.

"I hope you're not above making out. But not in school."

Luke laughed nervously. "You're joking, right?"

Grace answered him by pulling him close to her and kissing him. She pushed him down in the seat, and their bodies disappeared from sight.


	4. Everything's Just Peachy

Outside the car, sitting in their own car, were Joan and Adam. Joan turned to Adam, a disgusted look on her face. "I can't believe I just witnessed Grace Polk seducing my brother."

"It didn't really look like seduction to me, Jane," Adam corrected her. "It looked like she just…"

"Adam, I know what she did," Joan interrupted him. "I don't need an instant replay." She turned back to look at Grace's car, and saw that the windows were beginning to fog up. "I can't sit here and let this tragedy to all mankind to happen." She started to open the car door, but Adam put an arm out to stop her. "Adam, what are you doing?"

"Do you know how pissed Grace is going to be if she finds out we followed her here?" Adam pointed out. "Plus, she's your best friend, and Luke's your brother. Don't you want them to be happy, yo?"

"Well, yeah, but not together," Joan insisted. "Don't you see how wrong that is?"

"Hey, how do you think Grace feels?"

"About what? Her and Luke?" Joan asked. "Well, it's pretty obvious how she feels about that."

"No, about _us_."

Joan looked confused. "Well, that's different. You're not Grace's brother, for one."

"But, Jane, for the longest time, it was always Grace and Adam, Adam and Grace, and then you moved here, and it was the three of us."

"You don't think Grace resents me for taking you away from her, do you?" Joan asked, horrified.

"Not anymore," Adam said. "But yeah, at first, it was a little weird, even for me. I mean, now, we both are totally fine with it, and we can't imagine life without you. You've added power to the force."

"Okay," Joan agreed, somewhat confused. "Let's get out of here. I'm going to suffer through the initial awkwardness and grossness of Grace and Luke dating, and things will be just peachy after that." There was suddenly a hollow knock on the window, and Joan looked up to see a very angry Grace peering in, Luke standing behind her.

Adam turned to Joan and said, "Yeah. Just peachy."

Joan rolled down her windown slowly, and said, "Grace! What a surprise to see you here. Is that my brother you have with you? Good. I can let my mom know he's with you. We'll be on our way now." She started to roll the window up again, but Grace's hand interrupted it on its way up.

"What the hell are you doing, Joan? Spying on me? I can't believe this."

"Maybe you should let her explain…" Luke interrupted.

"Stay out of this," Grace ordered him. "This is between your sister and me."

"No," Luke retorted. "No, I'm not going to stay out of this. I'm involved in this just as much as you are."

Grace turned to face him. "Just let me take care of this. I'm better at handling confrontation than you are."

"How would you know?" Luke asked angrily. "You don't know me as well as you think you do."

Adam and Joan were watching raptly, but Joan decided it was time to leave before Grace remembered who she was actually mad at. "Well, we're off. Have a nice night."

She started rolling up the window again, but Grace flipped around and stopped her. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me why you followed us out here."

"Alright," Joan agreed. "If you want the truth, you'll get the truth."

"Jane," Adam warned, "what are you doing?"

Joan turned to him. "Best friends are supposed to be completely honest with each other, right? That's all I'm doing."

"Come on, Joan," Grace said impatiently. "Spit it out."

"Okay, so Adam and I saw you two back at school in the parking lot, and I was a little weirded out by the thought of it. I mean, Grace, you're my best friend, and dorkwad over there is unfortunately my brother, so, yeah, it was strange." Grace made as if to interrupt her, but Joan continued. "But Adam made me realize you were bothered by me dating him – at first, anyways -, but you let us do what we wanted because you wanted us to be happy. And that's all I want for you guys. If that means being together, as weird as it may be at first, I'll support it."

Grace looked less pissed and nodded her head slowly. "I'm still mad that you followed me out here. I don't care to be interrupted."

"I don't need details," Joan informed her. Grace grinned at her and stuck her hand through the open window. "So, we're good now?"

"As long as we make a deal," Grace stipulated.

"What's that?" Joan asked nervously.

"No discussing these two goons, and no PDA's in front of each oter. At least," she leaned in the window, "not at first." She withdrew her head and replaced her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Sure," Joan agreed, and the two shook hands. Joan then rolled up the window and Grace and Luke returned to Grace's car. "See," Joan said to Adam, "I told you everything would be just fine." He shook his head and she giggled and gave him a kiss.


	5. Soul Searching

Meanwhile, Grace and Luke were sitting in Graces's car, waiting for Joan and Adam to leave. "Are you still mad at me?" Luke asked timidly.

"What?" Grace asked angrily. "I was never mad at you, geek."

"But - but you yelled at me back there," Luke stuttered.

"So?" Grace said. "That doesn't mean I was mad at you. That's just the way I act. You should know that by now."

"You are so weird," Luke told her.

"Hey," she retorted, turning to him, "do you really want to start something?"

Luke looked scared. "No. No, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am, either. I'm not that old."

"Yes. Got it. When you sound mad, you're not, and don't call you ma'am." Grace started laughing at him. "What? Did I forget something?"

"No. It's just that," she paused, "you're kinda cute when you're trying to piece things together."

Luke smiled slightly. "I like this side of you, Grace."

Grace suddenly got a scowl on her face. "Don't expect me to be all happy-go-lucky now. That's not who I am."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't believe that. I don't believe that you came out of the womb hating the world. Something precipitated your change. I'm just trying to figure out what."

Grace was silent for a moment, then asked him, "Why do you care so much?"

Luke gave her a look. "Because I care about you. I don't want to see you ruined by your own loathing of everything good and fair in the world."

Grace shook her head angrily. "What's so good about Communism? What's fair about killing someone because their skin's a different color or they don't dress like you or because they don't like the same ice cream as you do?" Luke raised an eyebrow and Grace continued her rant. "Not everything in life is good. Or fair. Why bother being happy if everything you're happy about is just going to be taken away from you?"

"I'm going to take a wild stab and say there was some kind of tragedy in your life."

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that out," Grace said. She paused, then said, "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's okay. I'm not asking you to," Luke assured her.

She sighed and started talking anyway. "It started when I was 10."

"Grace, I said you don't have to talk about it if you didn't want to."

Grace shot a dirty look at him. "Shut up and let me talk." Luke nodded and pointed a finger at her, signaling for her to continue. "Well, you know that my dad's a rabbi." Luke nodded his head. "You have to promise me that no one, especially your dad, finds out about this."

Luke looked worried. "Did you do something against the law? Or your dad?"

"Well, not exactly, but it wasn't exactly commendable behavior."


	6. Grace's Secret

Author's Note: This chapter is not meant to be a bashing Grace's dad chapter….I have nothing against him. Besides, this is all stuff I made up, so it has nothing to do with the show itself and where it's going next season or any seasons beyond. It's kinda short, but I have people cursing me for the cliffhanger, so I have to update. Thanks for all the reviews!

She looked over at Luke, who was listening raptly. "I first met Jesus when I was 10. See, I sorta lied to you before when I said Adam and I were the only ones who knew about Jesus' gift. My dad knew, too. And he didn't like it one bit. One night, Jesus was over and we were talking, when my dad came in. He had been drinking."

"I think I know what happened," Luke said softly. "Your dad beat Jesus, didn't he?"

"No," Grace said, shaking her head. She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "He beat me." She quickly turned away from him, embarassed to be crying in front of him.

"Grace, you know you should report this to the authorities," Luke said.

"Screw the authorities," Grace erupted. "It happened when I was 10, Luke. There's nothing they can do about it now. Besides, I don't want to go live with a family of upper white class, center of the business world people who are just doing it to make themselves look like they're good people."

"Grace, if he still abuses you, you have to let someone know," Luke told her quietly.

"He doesn't, Luke," Grace insisted. "It was a one-time thing. He doesn't even drink anymore. That was a one-time thing, anyways. The only reason he had been drinking in the first place is because my mom ran off with some guy she met at the grocery store. So, you can see that I live a fabulous life. Now you know why I'm the way I am. And if you don't mind, I think I'd like to be alone now."

"I'm not leaving," Luke said boldly.

Grace looked at him. "Don't you listen, geek? I want you to go away. I'm not in the mood for company."

"Grace, I know you don't let your weaknesses show, but you can with me. Pretend I'm the source of all your problems. Cry, scream, punch me – wait, maybe the punching is a bad idea."

Grace laughed in spite of herself. Luke smiled at her, and she turned to him. "Thanks. I needed a laugh."

They were both silent for a few more moments, then Luke spoke up. "So, what should we do now?"

Grace answered him by kissing him, and they soon returned to their previous position out of sight.


	7. Mom Finds Out

At the Girardi house, Joan and Adam were sitting in the kitchen as Helen tossed a salad for dinner.

"Where's Luke? I haven't seen him since school got out," Helen asked.

Joan turned to Adam. "Should I tell her or would you like to?"

"What? Joan, what did you do to your brother?"

Joan had an insulted look on her face. "I didn't do anything to dorkweed. If I had done something to him, though, it wouldn't have been…_that_." She shuddered visibly, and Helen raised an eyebrow at her and turned to Adam.

"Since I'm not getting any answers out of my daughter, could you please elaborate?" she asked him.

"Well, we just caught Luke and Grace making out, that's all," Adam responded nonchalantly.

Helen started laughing. "No, really, where's Luke?"

"He just told you, Mom," Joan said. "My brother and my best friend are now a couple, and my life is ruined."

"Luke and Grace," Helen started, and Joan nodded, "are dating." Adam nodded, and Helen couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny, Mom," Joam reprimanded. "I don't know how I'm going to survive this. It was bad enough watching him and Glynis play tonsil hockey, but this is a million times worse."

"Unchallenged," Adam agreed, nodding blankly. "Just the thought of Grace kissing someone is, like, a complete mind-blower."

Helen rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you two. You act like Luke and Grace being together is the end of the world."

Joan spun around and grabbed the back of her chair. "That's the thing, Mom. Think of the consequences if those two would have kids."

"If who would have kids?" It was Kevin, who had just wheeled into the kitchen.

"Your brother and Grace Polk," Helen answered. Kevin looked taken aback, and Helen continued. "The whole idea is silly, anyways. Those two are a long way from being that serious, and even if they were, who's to say they'd even have kids?"

"Oh, but Luke would love to have a mini-version of Einstein, and Grace would like to add to her arsenal of indestructible warriors," Joan said sarcastically.

Adam looked confused. "I don't think Grace has an army."

"Well, I'm sure she'd like one," Joan responded. She sighed. "I'm trying to be a good sport about all this, because I realize that Grace had a hard time adjusting to me and Adam, but it's just so weird."

"Of course it is, Joan. Luke's your brother. Grace is your best friend. Don't you want them to be happy?" Helen asked.

"Yeah," Joan sighed. "But if they could hold off dating each other until I'm dead, that would be a lot easier for me." Everyone started laughing and they gathered around the table for dinner.


	8. Dashboard Confessionals 2

As everyone inside the Girardi house was enjoying dinner, Grace and Luke arrived back at the house.

"Do you want to come in?" Luke asked Grace. "Everyone should be eating by now."

"You think Joan told your parents?" Grace asked.

"Probably," Luke responded. "You know she can't keep her mouth closed. Why? Is that a problem?"

"Well, no," Grace answered. "I just don't want everyone to be expecting all this cutesy stuff like Joan and Rove do. You got me?"

"Yeah." Luke smiled. "Knowing my family, they'll be happy that I even have a girlfriend."

Grace laughed, then turned serious. "If this gets around school, and people start thinking I'm some prissy little prom queen wannabe…"

Luke sighed. "I know, I'm dead." He brightened suddenly, and pointed out, "But since it's me you're dating, they'll probably just peg you as a nerd and nobody will care either way."

Grace smiled at him. "You can be pretty cool to hang out with sometimes, Girardi."

"Geez, I'm your boyfriend, and I don't even get a first name reference?" Luke joked.

"Then there's that," Grace said, annoyed.

"I was joking, Grace," Luke assured her. "You do know that, don't you?"

"I have a question for you: do you expect me to treat you differently now that we're together?"

Luke gave her a strange look. "Well, yeah, I guess so. You _were_ telling me every 5 seconds how much you didn't like me before today, so I would like to see that change. What kind of question is that, anyway? I would hope things could be different between us. I'd like to be able to tell you things, and I want you to feel comfortable revealing yourself to me."

"I already told you about my dad. What more do you want to know? That I hate porcupines, I'm allergic to shellfish, and I have a secret love for the color pink?"

"Porcupines?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Look, I'm trying to make a point. I'm not going to change who I am for anybody, so don't expect me to."

"I don't _want_ you to change, Grace," Luke insisted. "I thought I made that clear before. I fell for the Grace Polk that's not afraid to kick someone's ass." He picked up her hand and continued. "And although I want us to be closer, you can feel free to kick my ass anytime you like."

Grace smirked. "With that attitude, it's hard not to take you up on that offer. But, as much as I enjoy kicking ass, as you put it, I'd much rather take my aggression out on someone who deserves it. Someone like Friedman."

"Friedman's not that bad of a guy," Luke insisted. "If you take away his infatuation with sex…"

"There's nothing left," Grace finished. "I'd rather not ruin my night by talking about the scum of the earth."

"You're the one that brought him up," Luke pointed out. "He is one of the few friends I have here. And I don't think he has a lot of friends."

"Gee, I wonder why," Grace said sardonically.

Luke gave her a dirty look and asked again, "Do you want to come in? I think we're having spaghetti."

"Well, in that case, hell yeah," Grace responded. They both started laughing and finally made their way to the house, where, unbeknownest to them, they had a captive audience.


	9. AntiChange

Author's Note: Is anyone still reading this??? Just curious. Read and review, please. I don't ask for much...just a few words on what you thought. It's nice to know these things.

Joan sat by the window, watching the Grace and Luke show with intensity. Adam strolled up behind her, interrupting her fervent spying.

"What're watching, Jane?" he asked, causing Joan to attempt to stand up, therefore causing her to hit her head on the top of the window sill.

"I _was_ watching Grace and Luke," she responded, rubbing her head. "They just got here. They were just _sitting _there, talking."

"Scandalous," Adam mocked.

"They've got to be up to something," Joan theorized, ignoring Adam. "Why would they be just talking?"

"Maybe they just feel comfortable telling each other stuff," Adam suggested.

Joan laughed mockingly. "I don't see Grace telling my brother anything." Just then, the door opened and Joan shut her mouth.

"Hi, guys," Joan said to Grace and Luke, attempting to ease some of the awkwardness.

"I don't get you people," Grace spoke up. "What the hell's the big deal? So what if I want to make out with your brother, Joan? You're getting into Rove's pants and I'm not all weird about it." She paused. "Although I should be." She shook her head. "My point is, why are things so awkward now? It's not like we're different people."

"But we _are_, Grace," Joan disagreed. "When your relationships with people change, _you_ change. You become more trusting or less trusting. We're changing every day, Grace. You can't say we're the same people."

"Wow. Perceptive," Grace mocked. "Listen, I'm not changing from the Grace Polk I am right now, so deal with it."

Luke sighed exasperatedly, running his hand through his hair. "How many times is that now that you've said that? I've told you already that I don't want you to change and I'm not expecting you to. I'm sure Joan and Adam feel the same way." He looked over at them for a hint of validation.

"Yeah, dude," Adam agreed. "If you weren't who you are, I wouldn't be who I am, and conversely, all of us would be different."

"Your logic is giving me a headache, Rove," Grace said, rubbing her forehead. "And I'm not a dude."

Luke suddenly leaned towards Adam. "Don't call her ma'am, either. Apparently she likes to appear genderly ambiguous."

Adam looked lost. "Is 'genderly' even a word?" Luke shrugged and a loud 'ahem' caught their attention. They straightened and looked over to Grace, who was glaring at them.

"Look, I know you say you don't expect any changes, but unconsciously, you're all expecting me to turn into some flowery little waif who waits for flowers or candlelit dinners or any other stupid cliché things like that," Grace insisted.

"How romantic," Joan sighed dreamily.

Grace rolled her eyes. "See what I mean? I don't want to turn into that."

Luke shook his head. "So don't. It's that easy. You're anti, remember? It should be a piece of cake for you. Now, come on. I'm hungry." He walked into the kitchen, leaving Joan, Adam, and Grace standing slack-jawed in the living room.

"I can't believe he talked to you like that," Joan gasped.

"Pretty sexy, isn't it?" Grace asked Joan before walking into the kitchen after Luke.

"Not funny, Grace!" Joan yelled back. She turned to Adam, shuddering. Adam laughed at her and gathered her into a hug.


	10. Food Fight!

Grace watched Luke as he piled some spaghetti noodles onto a waiting plate. He looked over at her as he ladled some sauce on the spaghetti. "Are you hungry? I thought that's why you came over."

"Yeah, it is," she responded, getting up and grabbing herself a plate. As she arranged the noodles and sauce on her own plate, she looked over at him and asked, "Why don't you ever show that side of yourself in school?"

Luke gave her a look. "And ruin my science geek image? Why would I ever want to do that?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "I just thought…it was kinda cool the way you stood up to me. Nobody ever really does that. Everyone's all afraid of Big Bad Grace, and I like a challenge." She stopped talking and looked over at him. "That's why I kissed you that night."

Luke nodded thoughtfully about that, then pondered, "Are you sure you don't have the hots for me?"

Grace smirked and threw a chunk of French bread at him, hitting him right in the nose. "Oh-ho! Looks like I got you, geek!"

"That's it," Luke announced. "This is war."

Luke withdrew a sauce-covered noodle from his plate and held it out in front of him. "Watch and learn, class." He suddenly tossed it at Grace, who unsuccessfully attempted to avoid it and ended up with a streak of sauce on her cheek.

"You are going to get it, Girardi," Grace assured him. She threw another piece of bread at him, he retaliated with more spaghetti, and soon both the two of them and the kitchen were covered with food. They were both laughing hysterically, and Luke went over to Grace and planted a kiss on her, which she reciprocated very nicely indeed.

"Well, I guess Joan and Adam weren't lying," they heard from behind them, and they broke away quickly to face Helen.

"Hey, Mrs. G," Grace greeted her, a bit flustered from being caught making out with her son. "I was…uh…just grabbing a bite. Hope you don't mind."

"No, no, that's fine," Helen assured her, amused by the whole situation…and a little weirded out at the same time. She cound understand how Joan felt now. "So," she said after a long pause, "how was school today, Luke?"

"Not bad," he responded, seeming to be over the whole Mom-walking-in-on-make-out-session event. "I got into an argument with Friedman over quantum theory. It was ridiculous, really. He _knows_ I'm right. How was your day?"

"Well," she drawled, "interesting. A few kids got into a fight in my 4th hour class, and I spent my free hours cleaning paint from every surface of my classroom."

"Awesome," Grace put in. Helen gave her a look that said 'yeah, right,' and Grace held up her hands in apology.

Helen was about to walk back out of the kitchen, but then stuck her head back in, ordering, "Clean up the mess when you're done fooling around." She then turned on her heel and left, leaving Grace and Luke both looking embarrassed. They turned to each other and burst out laughing.

"That was…" Grace started.

"Interesting," Luke finished. They looked at each other for a few seconds more, then started making out again.


	11. Not What I Wanted To Hear

"Lay off the brother, horndog." Joan was suddenly in the kitchen, grossed out by the two of them kissing.

Grace and Luke pulled away from each other, annoyed by Joan's interference. "Is there something you wanted, Joan?" Luke asked.

"It'd be nice if you two would, I don't know, stop making out in public places," she suggested, tapping a can of soda with her fingers.

"Since when is your kitchen a public place?" Grace asked.

"Since…" Joan stumbled for an explanation, "since I could walk in here and catch you guys, and…and that makes it a public place."

Grace looked at her dubiously. "That didn't make a whole lot of sense, Girardi."

"I know," Joan sighed. "But could you guys…please? Just do it when you know I'm not around."

Grace smirked. "Are you giving me permission to 'do it' with your brother?"

Joan got a horrified look on her face. "Oh my God! Never! Excuse me while I go give myself a labotomy to get that mental picture out of my head." She stumbled out of the room blindly, still making horrid faces.

Grace was still smirking as she turned to Luke, but stopped once she saw the look on his face. "Don't go getting any ideas, geek."

"Don't deny it, Grace. You want me!" Grace shook her head at him and started heading out of the room. "You can't unring a bell!" he yelled after her, and although he couldn't see her face, he could feel that she was smiling.

Luke pointed a finger into the air and blew on it like he was blowing on a recently fired gun. "You are the man, Luke Girardi." He picked up his plate and headed over by Grace.

Grace was enjoying her spaghetti as Luke sat down across from her. Luke thoughtfully watched her eating until she looked up at him. "What?"

"You are so afraid to admit to wanting me," Luke informed her. "I mean, isn't it at all plausible that you, the complete opposite of nice, would have more than platonic emotions for someone that spends his time doing homework for fun? Just the fact that we _are_ so beyond the norm should guarantee a successful relationship."

"Look, G, I already told you that we're a couple," Grace insisted. "And as much as I hate the term, we're dating now. What more do you want from me?" Luke was smirking. Grace sighed. "Now what?"

"That's all I wanted to hear," he replied.

"You're so annoying," Grace told him.

"Yeah, but you're the one that's dating me," he said cockily.

"We may be dating, but don't think I'm having sex with you."

Luke looked confused. "Who said anything about having sex?" Realization dawned on him, and a broad grin lit up his face. "You're the one that brought it up, and you keep mentioning it now, so…"

"Hey, I was just trying to freak Joan out and get her to leave," Grace insisted.

"Say what you will, but I see right through you, Grace Polk," Luke informed her. Grace rolled her eyes, stood up, and pushed her plate of spaghetti into Luke's lap before leaving the room.

Luke sat silently in annoyance for a few minutes, then managed, "That was so not cool."


	12. Smoking and Ruined Pants

Adam was holding Joan in his arms as Grace stormed through the living room, flung open the front door, and slammed it behind her in her rush out.

"What happened in there?" Adam asked, referring to the dining room.

"Who knows. Hopefully she came to her senses and realized what she was doing was wrong on so many levels," Joan theorized.

"I don't know, Jane. She looked pretty upset. Maybe I should go talk to her," Adam suggested.

Joan sighed. "Fine, you win. I'll go talk to dorkboy and try not to get too many details." They both stood and retreated in opposite directions – Joan to the dining room, Adam outside.

Adam opened up the door and found Grace sitting on the trunk of her car, smoking a cigarette. "Hey," he greeted.

"What do you want?" she asked, blowing out a puff of smoke.

"I want you to stop smoking, for one thing," he answered, pulling the cigarette from her mouth, leaving it in a pucker.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked, grabbing for the cancer stick.

"Why'd you leave in such a hurry, yo?" he responded, crushing the cigarette beneath his foot.

Grace shrugged. "I just needed some fresh air."

Adam looked at her doubtfully. "So you come out here and smoke. Come on, Grace. You learned a long time ago that you can't lie to me."

Grace suddenly turned angry. "What the hell business of yours is it, anyway? All I did was make a joke, and Einstein in there gets all bent out of shape over it and tries to act like frickin' Dr. Phil."

"Grace, you can admit it if you like him," Adam assured her. "It doesn't make you any less of a person if you do."

"It's easy for you to say that," Grace scoffed, unwittingly telling him how she felt. "You had it bad for Joan ever since she moved here."

"And like you haven't for Luke?" Adam returned her scoff. "Face it, Grace. You like him because of how anti he is."

Grace snorted. "_He's_ anti? He doesn't know the meaning of the word."

"What do you mean? He's a nerd. He's a complete science geek, and he doesn't care what anybody thinks of that. He's not trying to be popular, he's not trying to get laid, he's only being himself. Can't you relate to that?" Adam looked at her hopefully.

Grace smirked. "Maybe he is just the next step in my plan for world domination." Adam raised an eyebrow at her and she burst out laughing, signaling a smile and a chuckle from his, as well.

Inside the house, Joan was pretending to have a heart-to-heart with her brother.

"So, how exactly did you end up with an Italian dinner in your lap?" she asked. "And, _please_, do not tell me it's some sort of weird fetish Grace has."

"Well, I wouldn't know if it _was_," Luke responded. "Speaking of Grace, she seems to be sufficiently aggravated with yours truly."

Joan noticed that Luke looked quite distraught and called him on it. "This is really bugging you, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah," Luke confided. "In case you haven't noticed, I like Grace. I just want her to like me, too."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Joan assured him. Luke looked at her curiously and she elaborated. "If Grace didn't like you, she would've shoved you into a locker or gave you a killer wedgie or a swirlie by now."

"Well, thanks for that vote of confidence, Joan, but how do you know that means Grace likes me? I mean, sure, she may enjoy having me as a chemistry partner because of my knowledge of the subject matter, but that doesn't mean she has deeper feelings that aren't completely platonic." He looked over at Joan, who was looking at him blankly.

"So, I'm going to go find Adam," she stated, walking out of the room.

"Thanks for your help," Luke yelled to her.

"No problem," she yelled back.

Luke turned back to his soiled pants. "Ah, yes. The joys of puberty and the wonders of falling in love." He stood up and hobbled up the stairs to change his pants.


	13. Personal Matchmakers

Joan walked out the front door and saw Adam and Grace sitting on Grace's car. They turned to face her at the sound of the door closing.

"Hey, Jane," Adam said, moving over to make some room for Joan next to them.

"So, Grace, my brother seems to be infatuated with you," Joan announced, hefting herself onto the car.

"God!" Grace shouted aggravatedly, jumping off the car. "Can't he get a life or something? I don't understand why he's obsessed with _me_, anyways. He could have Glynis or some other science geek. I don't get him at all."

"You know what I just realized, Grace?" Joan asked her.

"Let me guess: Your brother and I are the next Romeo and Juliet, and nothing but tragedy will come from our coupling? I couldn't agree more."

"No, although I do happen to agree with you on that. I realized that you are self-conscious. You don't think you deserve to be worshipped the way my brother worships you," Joan explained.

Grace snorted. "You are so full of it, Joan. While I do think that Einstein in there needs to back the hell off, it's not because of some self-esteem issues I have. It's because I don't appreciate being fawned over."

"What is wrong with you?" Joan asked incredulously. "Everyone likes when people pay attention to them."

"Well, maybe you enjoy Rove's constant groping and drooling, but I don't need to be young G's dominatrix," Grace informed her.

Joan made a face. "Bad mental picture. Promise me you will never buy a patent leather bodysuit."

Grace looked at her strangely. "Do I look like a masochist?"

"Actually," Adam started, but was cut off by Grace's dirty look. "Unchallenged."

"Listen, I don't want to talk about this," Grace insisted. "So, get off the car or you'll be under it. I'm not picky. I'll take either."

Adam and Joan quickly jumped off the car. Grace climbed in and searched for her keys, as Adam turned to Joan.

"You can't just let her leave, yo," he said urgently.

"Why not?" Joan asked. "She wants to leave, and you know Grace. When she wants to do something, she does it. She doesn't let anyone stop her."

"But we _have_ to stop her from leaving, Jane," Adam insisted. "You may not like your brother and Grace together, but what if they're just like us? Grace is ready to throw all that away because she thinks your brother's been hanging out with Friedman too much. We gotta make her see, Jane. We have to make her see that she'll never know if she doesn't try. I mean, it's like me and Iris. We went out, but I was hung up on you. When things are meant to happen, they'll happen. Like we did. And, if we're not too late, like your brother and Grace can."

Joan smiled at Adam's touching words. She opened her mouth to speak, but the honking of Grace's car horn interrupted her.

"Are you guys going to move or do I have to back over you?" she asked, poking her head out the car window at them.

Joan ran up to her window and started begging, "Grace, you can't leave without at least talking to Luke. What if you two were meant to be together and you screwed everything up by just driving away? Wouldn't you feel absolutely rotten?"

Grace was giving Joan a wondering look. "What made you change your mind about all this? Just 5 minutes ago, you were saying what a tragedy your brother and I were together and now you're acting like we're soul mates. What's the deal?"

Joan was struck dumb. "Well, uh, Adam said, well..."

"I'll explain, Jane," Adam saved. "It was all my idea, Grace. I just knew how I felt when I was going out with Iris, but still wanting to go out with Jane. Even though I took the chance of dating Iris, I knew I had to do it, because if I wouldn't have done it, I never would have known what would have happened if I did do it. You got me?"

Grace narrowed her eyes, trying to decipher what he meant. She threw the words around in her head for awhile, then nodded. "Unchallenged...I think."

"Dude, it's not that hard of a concept to grasp," Adam retaliated, leaning on the car. Neither one of them noticed Joan sneak back into the house, eager to get away from that situation.

Joan walked into the kitchen, to see Luke standing by the sink in a pair of sweatpants, scrubbing tomato sauce out of his khakis.

"I think you'd be better off letting Mom take care of that," she told Luke, sitting down at the kitchen counter. "You know how freaky she gets about laundry."

Luke turned and gave Joan a look like she was completely out of it. "You have to try to get tomato sauce out right away or it'll stain."

Joan looked thoughtful, then asked, "Why?"

Luke threw his pants in the sink and said, "It's a long and boring explanation, which I'm sure you don't really want to hear. Now, I'm assuming you didn't come in here to talk about my pants."

"And you would be right," Joan agreed. "Adam's out there right now, talking to Grace and trying to get her to see what a mistake she would be making if she just left without talking things out with you."

Luke raised an eyebrow at his sister. "So, you're like my, what? Personal matchmaker? This is really weird."

"Hey, I just want you to be happy, dorkweed, even if it is with my best friend. So I'm just trying to help things along. That's all."

"Right." Luke still looked skeptical, but decided to go with it. "So, what exactly have you proposed to Miss Polk?"

Just then, the front door slammed open, and Joan and Luke turned to see Grace standing in the doorway, Adam behind her, a fearful look on his face. Grace spoke up. "We need to talk."


	14. Not A Chick

Author's Note: Wow, it's been a long time, but I'm finally updating, by request of LushBaby (so I'm expecting a review from you! LOL). If anyone reading this reads any of my other fics and cares to see one of them updated, let me know. I'm a procrastinator, and I need motivation to get going on these things. Anyhoo, enough blabbing. Enjoy!

"G-Grace," Luke stuttered. He couldn't believe she was actually going to go through with it. Surely that was a good sign. But it could also mean that she just wanted to say that she didn't want to have anything to do with him. That wouldn't be so good.

"Yeah, it's me," she responded, then turned to Joan. "Would you mind? We don't need an audience."

Joan gave her a thumbs up and backed out of the room, joining Adam outside and closing the front door.

Grace watched Joan leave and turned back to Luke as soon as the door clicked. "So, your sister and Rove are convinced we're meant to be or something, so I'm supposed to tell you that before I leave. And now that I've told you, I think that gives me sufficient reason to get out of here. Bye." She turned to go, but Luke grabbed her arm before she could take a step. She swirled around, rolling her eyes at him.

"I think you know we're not done talking," he said softly.

Grace blew out a breath, plopping down on the couch. "Okay, so we're not done talking. What am I supposed to say? I'm not your normal girl. I don't do talking. At least not the kind of talking that involves relationships and commitment. You know that. I don't know what to tell you."

"You could tell me that we have a chance," Luke responded. "It's plausible, you know. We're both intellectual, concerned human beings, and since I'm a male and you're a female, the biology of it makes perfect sense." Grace started laughing. "What? What's that laugh supposed to mean?"

"Relax, Freud, I just think that you're overdoing things a bit," Grace answered him. "The next thing I know, you're going to be presenting pie charts and statistics to me about the productivity of couples with above average intelligence."

"You have an above average IQ?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Yes, jackass," she said. "Haven't you noticed anything from your constant eyeing of me?"

"Well," Luke started, pondering her question for a bit, "no. I just saw you as someone who was hell-bent on bringing down the entire educational system of the free world. You seem like someone who's all for democracy, yet all you do is fight the system. I really don't get you sometimes, Grace. What is so wrong with our country that you have to start a protest every 5 minutes?"

Grace shook her head at him. "Maybe it's different for you. Your dad's a cop, after all. That's gotta have some effect on the way you look at things."

"Of course it does," Luke agreed. "But that doesn't mean I agree with everything he does. And the law enforcement system of America has nothing to do with our educational system. You're just avoiding answering me."

Grace rolled her eyes. "God, you're starting to sound like a shrink. Maybe I just feel that the majority of the country is uneducated imbesols and it's up to us to change that."

Luke narrowed his eyebrows at her. "Us? We're supposed to completely reinvent the entire educational process of the United States all by ourselves? That's asking a lot, Grace. That's like asking Joan to get an A in history. It's impossible. It'll never work. Forget it." He threw his hands up, frustrated.

Grace looked at him incredulously. "I didn't mean 'us,' as in 'Grace and Luke,' I meant 'us,' as in 'people in our general age group.' Once again, you fail to impress me with your too literal translations of every word I say." Luke suddenly sputtered out a burst of laughter, causing Grace to look at him even more strangely. "Dude, what are you _on_ tonight?"

Luke smiled. "It's just hitting me now. We're talking. Actually talking. We've been talking all day. This totally blows my mind. I never thought you'd give me the time of day, let alone have a relationship with me."

"Whoa, dude, you're starting to sound a little stalkerish," Grace interrupted him. "I mean, I get the whole 'science geek that doesn't really talk to girls' thing, but usually your type goes for the supermodel type because you like trying to attain the unattainable. I don't exactly fit into that category."

"True, I could've been like Friedman and obsessed over every female within 5 feet, but I didn't want to resort to stupid crushes," Luke admitted. "I wanted a challenge, and that's part of the reason I chose to pursue you."

"Wait a minute, Einstein," Grace broke in. "You thought I was unattainable, and that's why you went after me?"

Luke shook his head. "You're making me sound bad. I _do_ want to have a relationship with you, I just never thought it'd actually happen, so now I'm at a loss for what to do next."

Grace looked down at her hands and mumbled, "I know just how you feel." Luke looked over at her and saw, for the first time since he had known her, a Grace that was insecure, unsure of what to do next, and - most surprising - scared.

He gingerly reached out and touched a hand to hers. She slowly moved her hand to clasp his and raised her eyes to his. It was then that he saw the tears of uncertainty rolling down her cheeks.

Luke couldn't contain his surprise. "Grace," he whispered, the shock apparent in his voice.

Grace impatiently wiped away the remaining tears on her face. "Stop gawking at me. It's not like you've never seen someone cry before."

Luke looked taken aback. "No, it's just that I've never seen you cry before. It's kind of nice."

Grace glared at him. "I'm glad you find my pain amusing."

"That's not what I meant," he assured her. "I just meant that it's nice to see you show some emotion other than hate and rage. I didn't know you had this kind of side to you."

"Well, now you saw it," Grace announced, pushing herself off the couch and walking towards the kitchen. "But don't count on seeing it again. I just let my guard down, which was apparently not the smartest thing to do."

Luke stood up and followed her to the kitchen. "Why? Why was it so stupid to show someone that you _do_ have a vulnerable side?" Grace ignored the question, choosing to pick up an apple instead. Luke reached over and snatched it away from her, slamming it on the countertop. "Answer the question, Grace."

Grace looked over at him, slightly surprised by his boldness. "Do you think I want everyone thinking I've been putting on a false front all this time? I don't _want_ people to see this side of me." She started walking back towards the living room, but Luke grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"Grace, if you show people this side, then maybe more people will see in you what Joan and Adam and I see in you. You aren't really the tough as nails chick everyone thinks you are."

"Okay, boy wonder, let me get a few things straight with you," Grace interrupted him. "One, I know what I want. You can't tell me what's going through my mind. Got it?" Luke was following along with wide eyes, and nodded blankly at her question. "Two, I don't even care what those Abercrombie wannabes think of me. I will do only things that I want to do. And finally, I am not, nor do I approve of the word, a chick."

"Is that it?" Luke asked warily.

"Yes. Is that satisfactory to you?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure," Luke stammered.

"Good. Let' s make out."

Luke looked flabbergasted. "But - but my parents could come home any minute and catch us. I really don't think you want that to happen."

"What's going to happen - your dad'll decide to arrest me for sexual assault?" Grace asked sarcastically.

Luke leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "Are you planning on getting violent?"

"I will if you continue to ask completely ridiculous and insulting questions," Grace answered, tempted to slap him for being a moron. "Are we on?" Luke still looked unsure, so Grace rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, laying a big kiss on him and thus loosening him up a bit. Luke responded by bracing her head, deepening the kiss, and pushing her down onto the couch.

Just as they landed on the couch, the front door opened.

"Oh my God," the person at the door commented.

Luke quickly raised his head at the person's voice. "Hi, Mom."


End file.
